After homeless man found dead New Year’s Day, advocates plead for end to camp raids
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Scott Eicke’s last name.
Advocates for houseless people in Kansas City cherished Scott “Sixx” Eicke. He cracked jokes and was always polite and friendly, they said — and he loved his dog Debo.
On New Year’s Day, Eicke, 41, was found dead from exposure, said Nellie Ann McCool with Free Hot Soup. Temperatures were below freezing the night of New Year’s Eve, just before the metro endured a sizable storm of snow and ice.
McCool and other advocates for members of the houseless community believe a recent sweep of Eicke’s encampment by the city left him without the resources to survive.
Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman with the Kansas City Police Department, said in an email Monday that the department does not conduct homeless camp raids. Though, he said, officers are at times asked to accompany city workers when they conduct cleanups “to help keep the peace.”
Becchina said he learned from the city that the most recent cleanup took place the day after Christmas near Interstate 70 and the Paseo, near where Free Hot Soup said Eicke had been living.
He did not immediately know if officers were called to be present during the Dec. 26 cleanup.
On Christmas day, an advocate for houseless individuals checked on Eicke to make sure he had enough supplies, McCool said.
One week later, Eicke’s camp was gone. He was found naked and frozen to death a couple blocks away, in a wooded area near East 24th Street and Woodland Avenue.
“For him to not have any of his belongings and to be in such an unsafe condition is an indicator to us that he was most likely a victim of these homeless camp sweeps and was displaced, and stripped of his possessions,” McCool said.
McCool likened a sweep in the middle of winter amid a pandemic and widespread economic crisis to “essentially issuing these people a death sentence.”
Chris Hernandez, a spokesman with the city, said Monday that “no city agency has conducted any sweeps of encampments in recent days, including none on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day.”
He did not immediately respond to a follow-up request regarding the sweep on Dec. 26.
Hernandez added that camping is not allowed in city parks.
On Sunday evening, just days after Eicke’s death, a second person was found dead inside a vacant building at East 53rd Street and Prospect Avenue, police said. Volunteers with Free Hot Soup who went to the scene believe the individual had been houseless.
After Eicke’s death, Mayor Quinton Lucas posted on Twitter his condolences to Eicke’s family and friends.
“I have heard much concerning challenges to those in our community experiencing homelessness,” Lucas tweeted. “No one should be moved without having warm, replacement shelter to go to. We have invested significantly in our continuum of care for our houseless community, but clearly have more to do.”
On New Year’s Eve, members of Creative Innovative Entrepreneurs protested outside Lucas’s home, calling for an end to sweeps of encampments. According to a post on the organization’s Facebook the recent sweep by the city had left several people without blankets and coats.
Winter is the time of year when those without houses are most at risk of dying, said Jae Bennett, executive director of the nonprofit Street Medicine KC.
In 2019, 22 people who were houseless died of exposure, he said. In 2018, 18 died.
Eicke had lost all of his possessions before. Last summer, Kendra Lawrence, a volunteer with Free Hot Soup went to pick up Eicke to take Debo to the vet, but his tent was gone and he was missing.
She and other volunteers eventually found him on the corner of a sidewalk. He told them city workers had cleared his things.
Lawrence first met Eicke and Debo a couple years ago while helping a woman in a neighboring tent.
“He would always look out for the people in the camps near him,” Lawrence said, adding that he’d share his food and let her know when someone was having a bad day and needed some extra attention. “He just always kind of looked out for the people around him that he knew wouldn’t ask for help.”
Lawrence didn’t witness what happened to Eicke’s tent and other possessions just before his death New Year’s Day, but said those who lived in his camp have told her it was the city that cleared everything.
Being houseless can’t be illegal, she said, urging that raids stop, especially in the winter.
“You need to have a plan for them first, before you displace them. You can’t displace them and then hope they find a plan,” McCool added. “Because the reason that they’re there is because they don’t have anywhere to go.”
McCool said she doesn’t believe those who swept Eicke’s camp were trying to kill anyone, “but because of the neglect and the ignorance, they are.”
More people will likely die if nothing changes.
“It’s not over yet,” she said. “I think that’s the scariest and saddest part is it’s still cold, and it’s going to be for a few more months, and the number of people without shelter is only rising.”
How to help
Lawrence recommended that anyone in a position to do so, give a water bottle or a blanket to anyone they see in need.
Even if someone doesn’t have anything to give when they pass an individual who is houseless, she says not to look away. Instead, share a conversation with them.
“I think that’s what our community has lost is they’re humans just like me and you,” she said. “Everybody’s a paycheck away from being homeless themselves, especially now.”
Bennett recommended if someone comes across a person in need, especially during these cold months, that they contact the Kansas City Public Library, which has a list of resources for those in need.
He also urged community members to contact city hall and ask for solutions to better protect those who are houseless.
Councilman Brandon Ellington, 3rd District at-large, said he plans to introduce legislation in the coming weeks that could help.
The proposal, he said, would identify city park land and create enclaves for those experiencing houselessness. He envisioned dormitory-style housing and assistance, including medical services.
Ellington said he has been working on the legislation since last year. It’s not a response to Eicke’s death.
But “had we had something like this in place, we wouldn’t have issues like this,” Ellington said.
In the meantime, if any Kansas Citians see someone on the street while the temperatures are below freezing, McCool recommended they ask the person if they have a safety plan, and if there’s a way they could help them carry it out, whether giving or getting them a ride to a shelter or giving them warm blankets.
People with the ability to give monetary donations can also support the work of Street Medicine KC at https://streetmedicine-kc.square.site/.
Those who wish to give to Free Hot Soup can donate items from their Amazon wish lists found on the group’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/FreeHotSoupKC.
The Star’s Allison Kite contributed.
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 2:47 PM.
